Born on the 4th of July

This Independence Day USians should take a couple hours from the festivities to revisit Oliver Stone’s classic film “Born on the Fourth of July.” What better way to remind us of the abuse of patriotism by our leaders who have misled us into costly, pointless wars. In a powerful performance, Tom Cruise brings to life the Vietnam War experience of Ron Kovic, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stone. We are reminded of the devastating human cost of that war to soldiers and why Kovic along with many other veterans became anti-war activists. It is a tragic tale that has been repeated again and again up to the present.

Stone and Kovic were nominated for an Academy Award for the film, while Cruise received a Best Actor nomination. Oliver Stone won an Oscar as Best Director. The New York Times wrote: "It is a film of enormous visceral power with, in the central role, a performance by Tom Cruise that defines everything that is best about the movie."